EXILES

Membership: Angelo Baldini, Franz Cadavus, General Jun Ching, Eric Gruning (background),
Jurgen "Iron Hand" Hauptmann, Ivan Krushki, Gottfried Rothman, many others

Purpose: World Domination,
of course.

Affiliations: former agents of the other Dr. Strange (See Comments); Red Skull

Enemies: Captain America, Dr. Doom, Falcon, Red Skull

Base of Operations: The Isle of the Exiles, somewhere around the Sargasso Sea

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense I#41 (See Comments) (May, 1963),
Captain America I#102 (June, 1968)

History: The Exiles are a group of international would-be world conquerors, who were allies of the Red Skull during World War II.  Their exploits during the war and activities between then and the modern era are unrevealed.

(Tales of Suspense#41) - After breaking out of prison, the mad scientist known as Dr. Strange gathered a group of international allies, "...the most cunning scientists and power-mad military men on Earth!", in his plot to take over the world.  Some of these allies may have been the Exiles (See Comments).

(Captain America  I#102-104) - Not too long after recovering from suspended animation since World War II, the Red Skull traveled to the Isle of the Exiles, where he was reunited with his old allies.  The Skull had his men kidnap Sharon Carter and brought her to the Isle, forcing Captain America to follow.  Cap made his way through the Exiles' armies, but, surprised by the sudden appearance of the Skull, he was clocked from behind by another soldier.  This enabled the Red Skull to apply a strip of "nuclear tape", which would force Captain America to obey him or it would cause him intense pain.  In addition, if the strip was removed, it would trigger a nuclear weapon hidden in Washington, D. C.

Assuming that controlling Captain America would give him control of the world, the Red Skull prepared to divide the helpless Earth amongst himself and the five Exiles.  As they argued, Cap and Sharon Carter broke free and escaped, despite the Red Skull's efforts to stop them.  The Skull claimed to have planned to let him go, since he still had the detonator, which could reach Cap at any point on Earth.

Sure enough, Cap soon returned to the Isle, though in hopes of stalling the Skull while the spy agency SHIELD (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-Enforcement Division) located the bomb.  Upon arriving on the Isle, each of the Exiles challenged Cap, although none of them could wait their turn to do so.  Nonetheless, Cap took them on and eventually defeated them.  The Skull tried to use the detonator against Cap, but by that time, SHIELD had succeeded in defusing the bomb, thus deactivating the tape.  SHIELD attacked the Isle, and the Exiles and the Red Skull fled.

(Captain America#115 [fb], 116, 117) - The Exiles learned of the sudden prosperity of an impoverished Mediterranean village and correctly suspected the involvement of the Cosmic Cube.  Their agents stole the Cube and gave it to the Skull, who refused to share it with any of them.  He dismissed the Exiles, and he went after Captain America on his own.

Seeking a means to gain revenge on his hated ally, the Red Skull used the powers of the Cosmic Cube to switch bodies with Cap.  After allowing Cap to fight off a few attacks by unwitting allies, the Red Skull then sent Cap to the Isle of the Exiles, knowing that they now hated him and would try to kill him.  As expected they attacked the "Red Skull" soon after he arrived on the Isle.  However, Cap found a new ally in the Falcon, who helped him fight off the Exiles by sending in Redwing, the Falcon's bird of prey.  Cap, in turn (after wisely figuring out that the Skull's face was a mask, and that no one would recognize him without it), trained the Falcon to fight, and helped him pick out his "super-hero" name and first costume.  Falcon joined Cap in fighting the Exiles, and also inspired the natives of the Isle to rebel against their tyranny.  The Exiles fled under a hail of stones.

(Astonishing Tales I#4/2 [fb], 4/2, 5/2) - The Red Skull returned to the Exiles, and cowed them into serving him again by telling them that they were nothing without a leader.  He then led the Exiles to Latveria, where they succeeded in taking over the country while Doom was out vacationing in the Riviera (yep, it's true).  They used his own soldiers against him when he returned, gassed him unconscious, and put him on public display in an "adamantine mummy case".  However, Doom absorbed the sun's rays into his armor until he had the strength to break free.  The Exiles attacked Doom, but since their natural abilities were just about worthless against super-powered armor, Doom defeated them quickly.  Doom then gassed them with hypno-gas, which made them believe that they had become only a few inches tall, and then sent them back to the Isle of the Exiles.

(Iron Man III#6) - Iron Man teamed up with the Black Widow to try to track down several missing prominent scientists.  While working undercover, the Widow was confronted by Iron Hand Hauptmann, who was working for Tuatara, the woman behind the kidnappings.  Hauptmann used a new, electrified iron hand, but the fight ended when he smashed it into a punch bowl and was shocked into unconsciousness.

COMMENTS: Created by Stan "The Man" Lee and Jack "King" Kirby.

The Exiles actually are the whole island of criminals, but usually only the six described here are seen.  Only this smaller group made any further appearances after their initial story.

These characters were supposed be old World War II allies of the Red Skull.  They would have fit right in in the comic books of the 1940s.  Stereotypes, Stereotypes everywhere...and not a drop of depth to be found.

Russia and Germany weren't that good of friends during and right after World War II, so maybe Krushki was an ex-patriot, or more likely, the writers brought him in the sixties because of the cold war, which made Russia and America a little unfriendly--and the whole "the friend of my enemy if my friend" sort of deal.  Who knows?  Perhaps these guys do: 

• While the "Russians are EVIL so we'll have a Russian among the Exiles, regardless of which side they fought on in WW2"-theory probably is correct, he might be Ukrainian - some of whom fought on the Axis side after Ukraine had been overrun.  Or he could be a White Russian (Czarist, as opposed to Red)... Actually, him being a White Russian would kind of make sense if linked with General Ching, who presumably is neither Communist or Nationalist, but more likely just a civil war Warlord (many of whom employed White Russian mercenaries).   Or maybe I just think too much about this.
  --Hans Holms
• While Cary adds: Krushki was no doubt a White Russian who collaborated with the Nazis, during World War II.  But, General Ching was more likely a Manchurian Chinese who collaborated with the Japanese.  Going by his surname, HE MIGHT EVEN HAVE BEEN A COLLATERAL RELATIVE OF CHINA'S LAST OFFICIAL EMPEROR!    And, come to think of it, that would make a great  "What If...?" story.   *"What If Gen. Ching Became the Red Skull's Ambassador to Fu Manchu?*    Yours truly: Carycomix@aol.com
  

Thanks to Marvel's sliding time scale, these guys would have to be at least 65-85 years old to have appeared at the beginning of the modern era, as of 2001.  Maybe they were exposed to the energies of Ian Karkull--no wait, that's DC.  Gotta be another suspended animation or use of some extended life formula a la the Infinity Formula or the Elixir Vitae.  Ah, who cares!?  These guys are pretty lame, even by my standards.  I did like seeing Hauptmann again in Iron Man.

The original Marvel Comics Index lists the Exiles as the unnamed allies of Dr. Strange, in the credits for Tales of Suspense#41.

"Intro: The Exiles (cameo: at least 11 characters, not identified, but six of whom bear a striking resemblance to the characters introduced and named in Captain America#102-104; accomplices of Dr. Strange)"

Here they are--judge for yourself. 

The Exiles have an entry in Marvel Legacy: The 1960s Handbook. The first names of Cadavus, Hauptmann & Gruning were revealed in Marvel Atlas#1. The first names of Baldini, Ching and Krushki as well as Gottfried's membership were revealed in the Exiles entry in OHotMU A-Z Hardcover#4.

Profile updated/edited by Kyle Sims

• Exiles, the cross-reality x-group, @ Blink #4, Exiles#1
• Exiles of the Ultraverse, Rachel Deming's group, @ Exiles#1 (Ultraverse title)
• Exiles of the Ultraverse, of which Sienna Blaze and the Juggernaut of the Marvel Universe were both members, @ All-New Exiles#1
• Exile, an extra-dimensional creature encountered by the Fantastic Four, @ Marvel Comics Presents#64/3
• Exile, from the Realm of Exiles @ Nightmare#1